Report: Jennifer Morrison’s moving out of ‘House’

For the second straight year, FOX’s “House” is going to lose a regular cast member, but unlike with Kal Penn last year, the medical drama hasn’t been able to keep this departure a secret.

According to Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly, Jennifer Morrison shot her final scene as a cast regular earlier this week and that Dr. Allison Cameron will be exiting “House” in a November episode. He described the move as “a creative decision on the part of producers.”

Although the character temporarily moved back to the forefront in the final episodes of last season, even marrying Jesse Spencer’s Chase in the Season Five finale, Cameron has been underutilized since she quit House’s service at the end of the third season.

At Television Critics Association press tour this summer, series creator David Share actually told HitFix that Cameron and Chase would play more central roles this season in the aftermath of House’s psychiatric treatment.

“Because House won’t have his license in the beginning of the year, that throws everything up in the air and Cameron and Chase are going to get more involved, at least at the beginning,” Shore said. Perhaps this reporter should have read more into Shore’s “at the beginning.”

HitFix followed up by asking if there was anything he hoped to do with those characters that maybe he didn’t get to do last season.

“We certainly gave them less screentime. I can’t argue with that,” Shore said. “But I have to say they were empowered and I liked the way their scenes played. I liked the fact that they were approaching House in a different way. I was enjoying that. Now, going back, we’re going to see them back in there and it was fun, throwing them back in there. But to answer your question, ‘Nothing.'”

Ausiello says that Cameron isn’t going to leave the show in Kutner-esque fashion and that the door will still be open for Morrison to return for later appearances, should the right story come up. In addition, he says that Chase isn’t going anywhere.

Morrison, an original “House” regular, was most recently seen on the big screen as Captain Kirk’s mom in “Star Trek.”

HitFix asked FOX for a comment on Morrison’s reported departure, but so far, no word (or would any statement be expected in a situation of this sort).

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You put a spoiler for a major show in a headline on your homepage? Wow. Dick move. I stopped looking at EW’s website because they do the same thing (they spoiled a LOST twist for me weeks in advance). Guess I can’t look at Hitfix anymore either. Oh well.

By: dan

09.25.2009 @ 12:07 AM

Dave J – I gave this one a lot of thought. The fact is, the story here is a regular castmember leaving a top-rated show. And that is news. It’s not spoiler news, it’s industry casting news. Obviously Morrison leaving the show means Cameron leaving the show and spoiling that is regretful. At HitFix we don’t have a spoiler reporter and, thus, we won’t be spoiling plotpoints within a show as a regular column or blog or anything (as of now). To my mind, this was different because just as we’d report on a major actor being added to any show — which would spoil for you that said actor would eventually appear on said show — we have to report on a major actor leaving, even if it has a similar spoiling effect. I do apologize, but that’s how I viewed the posting of this story. – Daniel

By: Dave J

09.25.2009 @ 1:27 AM

I wasn’t saying you shouldn’t report it. I was saying you could have been a little less explicit in your headline (eg “Major Cast Member Departs House”) — that way you wouldn’t be robbing people who look at the homepage of the choice to be spoiled or not (or, a lot less so anyway). Not to mention, from your point of view, it teases the story without giving it all away in the headline and creates a reason to click the link… like they do on tv news, “Which major cast member is departing House? Tune in at 11 to find out!”. Just my 2 cents. Anyway, thanks for responding.

By: dan

09.25.2009 @ 1:38 AM

Dave J – I decided that more coy approach made it seem more gossip-y and more spoiler-y, even though we (like every other website and newspaper) use a similar approach in headlines all the time — “Shasta McNasty” star gets “Lost” or something. But we don’t do that when it’s something big. I would never say, I dunno, “Cocktail” Star Joins “Better Off Ted” to describe Tom Cruise doing a cameo on the ABC comedy… I understand your POV on this and I’m happy to explain mine… – Daniel

By: honk_mahfah

09.24.2009 @ 11:38 PM

That’s a shame. But really, the show is strong enough that almost anybody could leave without the show suffering. Unless Hugh Laurie left; that would be a death knell for sure.

By: Debra Thompson

09.25.2009 @ 12:37 AM

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. They took a great show with a great cast and dumped 3 of the 5 core actors. Well not dumped but relegated them to the burner so far back they were all but invisible. It would be like losing a full time job but having to work one day a week at a place where you were once a star. And now she’s leaving because they’ve pushed her completely out. She should have left a lomg time ago sinc they didn’t really appreciate her. Good luck Miss Morrison. Good bye House, if the writers and producers don’t know when they have a good thing going then I don’t need to watch anymore.

By: Matthew

09.25.2009 @ 3:36 AM

Yes, I was really angry when Jennifer was out of the team and went to work in the ER dept. I started watching House because of her and I waited patiently for her to return to the team.

It didn’t happen at the end of Season 4. I said, fine, just wait for another season. It did not happen last season too. And now you tell me you are dropping her?!

Yes, I like 13, but I prefer Jennifer and 13. If you have to drop someone, please drop the plastic surgeon. Looks like I don’t have to watch House anymore. Seems like I have to go back to watching Grey’s Anatomy.

By: NLP

09.25.2009 @ 3:54 AM

I can’t believe Morrison didn’t leave sooner. Of course, any cast member is replaceable except for Hugh Laurie, but that doesn’t mean her loss doesn’t matter. The supporting characters helped build the show into “must-watch tv,” then TPTB just jettisoned 1/2 of that successful cast after only 3 seasons. And of the 3 ducklings, they chose to keep dour, grumpy Forman in the forefront?!

I used to have a group of family & friends who faithfully watched the show, and every single one of us think it’s been downhill ever since. I think I’m the only one of our merry little band even watching it anymore — watching Laurie & holding my nose through the rest. Constantly putting House through the trials of Job has been depressing, and all the soap-opery romances were tedious and seemingly interminable. Just goes to show â€“ creating a good show is one thing; maintaining it is quite another. I am totally baffled as to how such a great show could go so wrong.

By: kellei

09.27.2009 @ 4:04 PM

Thirteen (skeletal) is completely useless in the plot and Lisa (big ass)the two do not seem Medical.
Creative decision?no,this called:stupidity,
lack of competence and disrespect for the fans of the series.
*************Boycott house*****************
They have to go back!!!
Jennifer not deserve it!!!

**excuse the errors of English, I’m using the google translator.
I’m Brasilian EX-FAN